After a slightly misleading electro-tinged intro it's back down to business as usual for Limp Bizkit. 'Hot Dog' sets the tone, averaging around four f**ks per line and delivering the first of many rants, in this case delivered by way of a subtle - by Limp Bizkit standards - aside at Nine Inch Nails.
From here in, the absurdly childish Fred Durst stamps his feet and shakes his fists through 15 tracks worth of every 21st century adolescent's favourite - good ol' rock rap. Lines like, 'why do you hate me?', 'don't hate me' and 'I hate you', 'I don't give a f**k about you' and 'everything sucks' aren't uncommon.
Nonetheless, this childishness is, conversely, Durst's greatest strength. The raw power that made tracks like 'Nookie' and 'Break Stuff' so effective returns with all the predictability of a teenager's enraged tantrum and when they stamp their feet on the bedroom floor, Limp Bizkit sound great.
They don't, however, sound great when they try plucked chords and luurve - 'The One', 'Hold On' - or, for that matter, hardcore rap, 'Getcha Groove On' with Xibit. Last time around, with the assistance of DJ Premier and Method Man, they pulled off the most authentic hip-hop track by a rock band, ever. But, in such company, could they really have failed?
'My Generation', 'Full Nelson', 'My Way' and the MI: 2 theme, 'Take A Look Around' all further the Limp Bizkit sound to good, if hardly groundbreaking, effect. Elsewhere, this album just serves to illustrate the limitations of this band. But, hey, this time next year Fred Durst will be a famed actor/director, cable TV entrepreneur and label boss, so whatever...
